Often in the hours that preceded the
period when they were to have been united heart and mind
and thought in one common destiny, would he start from
her side, his brain whirling with very intoxication, and
then obeying another wild impulse, rush once more into
her embrace; and clasping his beloved Madeline to his
heart, entreat her again to pour forth all the melody of
that confession in his enraptured ear. Artless and
unaffected as she was generous and impassioned, the fond
and noble girl never hesitated to gratify him whom alone
she loved; and deep and fervent was the joy of the soldier,
when he found that each passionate entreaty, far from
being met with caprice, only drew from the lips of his
cousin warmer and more affectionate expressions of her
attachment. Such expressions, coming from any woman,
must have been rapturous and soothing in the extreme;
but, when they flowed from a voice whose very sound was
melody, they acted on the heart of Captain de Haldimar
with a potency that was as irresistible as the love itself
which she inspired.
Such was the position of things just before the commencement
of the Indian war.
Pages:
442
443
444
445
446
447
448
449
450
451
452
453
454
455
456
457
458
459
460
461
462
463
464
465
466